The Incredible Shrinking Man --- My Incredible Shrinking Master
by ConMan1226
Summary: Oneshot. The story from the POV of Scott Carey's cat, who might actually be smarter than you thought.


**First of all, SOMEBODY add an 'Incredible Shrinking Man' section to film. I'm shocked it's not already here.**

**So this film is a sci-fi classic, but… that cat has always intrigued me. I mean, there are many people out there that have good relationships with our pets. If you are one of those people, answer me this - if you were to shrink as Scott did, how would your pet react? **

**We all like to imagine that our pets stay the same, and if our pets get bigger, there's more to love. I think if we had a good relationship with our pets, they would recognize us. So why was the cat in the movie trying to eat Scott? Simple. The cat **_**wasn't **_**trying to eat Scott.**

**So that's when I decided to write this story. It's told in first person from the perspective of the misunderstood feline. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own The Incredible Shrinking Man.

I'm not stupid, okay. In fact, I consider myself more intelligent than most cats. I don't remember any of my life at the pet store: I was taken in by Scott & Louise Carey when I was just a kitten. From what I understand, they took me in so they could have a little company around the house. (Apparently they had trouble conceiving.)

Now to some, it may seem odd that I would know about personal matters in the Carey household, but if you're anything like me, you can't help it. The Carey's have no problem in discussing issues while I'm in the room. Very seldom can I do anything about these issues, but I enjoy watching them anyway. It makes me feel more involved in their lives.

I noticed what was going on before the Carey's did. Scott was discussing taxes with Louise one night and I noticed that something seemed off about him. I had seen the silhouette if the two of them side by side many times. And yet - this time it seemed different. But I told myself that Scott was probably just hunching a bit. Or maybe his wife's high heels were a bit higher than usual. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

The humans figured it out eventually. It appeared that Scott had been exposed to radiation during his recent vacation, and it was causing him to get shorter. And he would continue to get shorter until a cure was found. I remember him coming home from the hospital, when he sat down beside me and pat me on the head. "Don't you worry," he said, "It's going to be all right." I decided that this was a serious issue, and that I would try to help in any way that I could.

The next few months were rough on all of us, Scott was soon shorter than his wife, and after a while, he didn't even look like a full grown man. I would try cuddling up with him whenever I could to ease the stress, but it wasn't accomplishing much. Soon, Scott was the size of a child, and was forced to go public to get the money rolling i. I often wondered if the shrinking was affecting his hormones, or if the situation was naturally making him angrier. Once or twice he pushed me aside angrily instead of letting me comfort him. As time went on, I wondered if anything could comfort him.

For a brief period of time, Scott left, apparently thinking that the shrinking had stopped and that he would be three feet tall forever. However, not only did the shrinking come back, but it seemed to be happening faster than before. In no time at all, he was the size of a toddler and simply getting through daily life was a challenge. The smaller he fort, the more stress filled the household. I kept telling myself that there had to be something I could do.

One day, a man came over to the house and informed Scott that he had officially beaten the Guinness World Record for shortest living person. The man tried to act like this was joyous news, but Scott wasn't the least bit happy. He was getting more bitter by the minute, and I told myself that now was the time to act. I went up to Scott to try to comfort him, but in my haste I hadn't realized how small he truly had become. I also forgot that the floors had been recently cleaned, and I ended up sliding right into him. When we both recovered. It seemed as though Scott has been injured by my claws, and I had just made things worse.

I was taken to a vet and declawed, while Scott was somehow cured of the claw marks on his chest by a doctor. We were all peeved by the time we got home, but I was quite surprised when Louise decided she would keep me in the backyard, telling me sternly, "Stay away from my husband." In hindsight, I can see why she did it. But I knew I needed to see Scott again. I couldn't stand to see him upset like this.

For the next few weeks, Louise kept a close eye on me. I never even got a chance to see Scott, let alone comfort him. Day by day, I eagerly awaited for the day Louise would make a mistake, and I could drum in there and eagerly show Scott that he didn't have to be alone. I would show Scott that I could d be his friend.

Finally, I got my chance. Louise was going shopping and she was leaving Scott at home. I waited until I was sure she was gone, and then I entered the living room. It was still just as clean as I left it, with the only change being a dollhouse in the corner. I wondered why she would set that up unless… no… Scott hadn't gotten _that_ small, had he? I had to make sure. I went up to the dollhouse and peered through the window. I was just about to poke my paw in the door opened, and there was Scott, standing at about six inches high.

I yelped in surprise. He slammed the door. I tried to make sense of things, I hadn't expected him to be this small, he was smaller than me! Well, sitting on his lap was out of the question, but there had to be some way I could comfort him. I was reminded that he was really only small by the standards of his own species. I was pretty small by human standards, also, so I guessed that was something we had in common.

Now the question became how to get t him. I obviously couldn't open the door. I tried reaching my paw in the window, and for a moment, I felt him. But then I was poked by something and I lost him. That was when I realized that the dollhouse had no back, it was simply propped up against the wall. I was sure I could move it. With all my might, I pushed the dollhouse aside, seeing Scott. But he clearly didn't want company right now, so he ran. It took me a minute to realize that he had left the dollhouse and was running along the floor. I quickly ran after him.

In no time at all, I had caught up to him. I looked in his face and saw… terror? Oh ,of course, he was scared of me. I must be awfully intimidating. I needed to show I mean him no harm. I laid down on my stomach in the most condescending way imaginable and smiled as much as my face could muster. Even though I knew he couldn't understand me, I spoke anyway in the hopes that something in his brain would get the idea.

_Please, Scott. It doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to be so grumpy all the time. Being small isn't so bad. Do you think I'll eat you? Oh, I get it. Because cats eat mice. Well, this is a rich neighborhood. There aren't even any mice here. I've never eaten a mouse in my lie. I eat tuna and store-bought cat food. Please, Scott. I can be your friend. I'll let you rub my tummy, I'll… I'll give ou rides on my back! We can play, or cuddle up together… My cat bed is very comfortable, I thin you'll like it. Just don't be afraid of me. Please._

I looked into his eyes, there was something about the way he was looking at me that made me wonder… was he getting the message? He was slowly getting up. Maybe he could see that he had nothing to fear. But wait… he was looking up at a small table with a lamp on it. The wire of the lamp was hanging down to where he could reach it. What was he-

It all happened very fast. He jumped on the wire and the lamp came crashing down, making a deafening sound. I couldn't help it. My animal instincts took over. I ran as far away as I could from the awful noise and by the time I realized what had happened, Scott had ran all the way to the other side of the room and was headed towards… the basement? Okay, clearly he wasn't getting the message, but he can't just go into the basement. He would never get up those steps again at his height. I had to stop him.

I ran as fast as I could towards the basement door which he was trying to close. He was pushing with all of his might, apparently convinced that I was planning on eating him. I tried and tried to get the door open. Finally, it seemed like Scott's strength had given in, only to realize that I was pushing the door, and by extension, him. I realized immediately that Scott had fallen into the basement, but before I could do anything about it, I heard footsteps. To my horror, Louise had come home.

Everything after that was a blur, Louise automatically assumed that I had eaten her husband. I tried to point her towards the basement and tell her what had really happened (like that Lassie I see all the time on TV) but evidently, that only works with dogs.

I knew Scott was in the basement, but none of the people who came to the house bothered to look in the basement. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Scott was dead and I was the culprit. Louise could barely look at me, and I soon found out that I would be given to a relative of hers, Louise would also be leaving the house to live with her brother. And as I was put in a cage and taken away, I reflected on how, in a way, I truly was to blame. Or maybe to blame was the fact that humans and cats don't have very good communication skills. Either way, the fact remained that I had tried to make things better and I just ended up making things worse.

And as I was leaving, I stared back at the house one last time. And I couldn't help thinking about what was happening down in the basement. Was Scott still alive? Had he managed to escape the basement and end up somewhere else? And how small was he?

Hardly a day goes by when I don't think about Scott Carey and wish him good luck, wherever he is.

**The line about the Carey's having trouble conceiving is a little inside joke. In the book they have a daughter and in the movie they don't. Anyway, If you watch the scene from the film, you'll see that all the actions of the 'chase' scene match up with this fanfic. Particularly the part where the cat's just looking at him on the floor, looking cute. This will always be my personal canon as to what the cat was thinking. **


End file.
